'New' iPad Sets the Standard with 2048 x 1536 Resolution

Well, Apple always finds a way to be "different," and they've certainly done that with the introduction of the new iPad. The new iPad is called...iPad. It remains to be seen if we'll get an explanation into why they didn't decide to continue with the numbering system - or a whole new naming system - but it's clear Apple wants to start over again and has now created a slight confusion among consumers - as the iPad is far superior than the iPad 2. If you despise Apple, at least stick around for the conclusion.

Here's the launch video:

Here are the specs:

2048 x 1536 IPS Retina Display - 261 PPI

A5X processor with Dual-Core CPU and Quad-Core GPU

5mp camera and 1080p video recording

4G LTE

$499, $599 and $699 for 16, 32, and 64GB

$629, $729, and $829 for 4G LTE

March 16 Availability

What does this mean for you? Well if you're one of the millions of creatives out there who own Apple devices, it's obviously exciting on a base level. But what Apple has done is truly push the envelope for resolution in a small screen. At 10 inches (same size as the previous iPad), the screen now has a high enough pixel density to be considered a Retina Display - that is, if held at least 15 inches away from your face. No other 10" monitor in existence right now has a pixel density that high.

This means that we can finally watch not only 1080p videos, but actual 2K files from a RED Epic or Arri Alexa in full resolution on the iPad (hardware allowing). This is going to be a blessing for most or a curse for some. I would expect that if you've got a rough cut of anything, and a client or boss with a new iPad, they're going to want a full resolution file to be able to watch on their mobile device.

The positive end of this announcement for most of us, is that we now have the highest resolution 10" production monitor ever made. Is connectivity and durability a possible issue - probably - but with a device like the Teradek Cube, you can give directors, producers, and clients a full resolution image of whatever you're shooting. This is scary in some ways, but if these higher-ups have a better sense of the final image because of the iPad - maybe they'll leave you alone a little more (maybe). Regardless, this is a major development and there are an infinite number of reasons that this kind of resolution is helpful for filmmakers and creatives. Apple does one thing that even detractors can't deny: they push other companies into innovating at a faster pace, and it's likely over the next year or two every tablet screen will be at least 1080.

More to come soon on the other Apple announcements of the day - like 1080p movies in iTunes, new Apple TV, and an upgraded iMovie.

Your Comment

31 Comments

Unfortunately that "consumer culture" is the only reason we get technological innovation. Companies attempt to bring out the next big thing and one-up each other - even if most of their reasons for doing so are related to making money. You can thank that same culture for affordable large sensor DSLRs and high-resolution displays. We'd still be shooting on $15,000 1/3" sensor cameras if companies had no incentive to advance their products. It's the same reason why we are going to get 4K screens on every movie theater in a matter of years, because Hollywood is trying to figure out a better way to make money on consumers - so they have to innovate or die. The benefit, obviously, is that movies look better than they ever have - and independent filmmakers actually have relatively affordable tools to take advantage of it.

movies dont look "better" per say, thats subjective, but they surely just all look the same now. The democratization of film gave everybody with a credit card an artistic voice, including those who cant speak art properly.

I see your point, and capitalism is the only way to "drive" things forward. i myself am a product of the recent mainstream accessibility of filmmaking anyway

"Unfortunately that “consumer culture” is the only reason we get technological innovation."

well, we should find new paradigms, or we have to be acritical to civilization status quo?

but technological innovation at what cost?
some possible side effects:
-water pollution until no safe water to drink in about 30 yrs. some scientists says.
-sea acidification... lots of sea animals needs alkaline water to survive.
-very minimum wages for workers building our tools of "consumer culture".
-nature diversity being destroyed.
-tons of irrelevant information and less critical thinking.
-guided by consumer culture more and more invasive technologies, and kids like it! :D

maybe prof. david noble books about the "religion" of technology are spot on.

I am an optimist and I believe in a sustainable form of capitalism; however, it would require radical restructuring of today's current socioeconomic infrastructure. corporations should be responsible for their actions, and they should stay the hell out of government.

Very, very useful. You can view/import DSLR video at full res with the current iPad and its camera connection kit, but now you'll be able to see it. Handy for reviewing in the field even without a Teradeck.

No video in, I don't believe there will ever be a physical video input that we can attach devices to - at best we will have wireless connectivity. This will come down to individual manufacturers, or it will work with most cameras using something like the Teradek Cube.

I really look forward to seeing what Canon's WFT-E6A is going to allow for when you can connect it between their cameras and the iPad. If it proves just as fast, you may indeed no longer need a Teradek...

I'd be surprised if it'll play 2K without getting choppy. I have VLC installed on my ipad2 and it won't even play most 720p mkv files without chopping - I have to re-encode to mp4 at a lower res/bitrate and then put it in through itunes just to watch em. As for watching DSLR video files straight out of the camera, which are way higher bitrate than a compressed mkv file... I'll have to see it to believe it! Not saying it's not possible, just something to question!

I don't believe the iOS version of VLC was ever really optimized for the iPad's hardware. I experienced dropped frames when I had it on mine too. However, I haven't had any problems playing even 1080p video (raw from the 5DmkII) in the iPad 2. There are a few apps out there that allow you to bring in video outside of iTunes.

Improved GFX chip or not, I don't think this device will have the horsepower to play native DSLR files, never mind 2K files from RED. Its high rez display is for awesome looking photo's and 1080p content with Apple approved codecs that the GFX is capable of decoding.

Thought I was the only one who wanted hdmi-IN on a tablet device lol.. While in china two years ago I ended up buying a 10" photo frame that had hdmi in and runs on batteries - was thin as too.. However I couldn't colour calibrate the bloody thing :( now I have a acre a500 that has USB host which takes the USB live feed from a canon but still not quite there... First tablet maker who puts on android and hdmi in with a app that does video feed waveforms and can be colour corrected will sell a bucketload. Am headin back to china end of march to start my Doco film, while there I'll try to start talks with a tablet maker about it :) who'd be up for one if it ever gets made? I'll need a case study to show its worth to the makers. I don't think I'll get too hard of a time getting in front of one of the Chinese tablet makers - there's a ton of them over there.

Oh I got a 5" monitor - what I'd love is true res in the darn thing and not 800x480 res stuff for example - I'd live it to be app'd so I can view waveforms on it or focus dots or Matt's even ... You get the drift :)

a 5:4 screen with something like 1280x1024 at 7" or so would be great: hdmi-in in the bulk of the screen, and a 1280x304 area in the bottom to control the camera through USB (set aperture, speed, iso, white balance, picture style, etc) and show a couple of scopes (histogram, waveform)

Because it is a consumer device. There is nothing higher then 1080p in the consumer resolution standards. I though this kinda funny as you can't shoot video with the native 4:3 resolution, but we know why. It isn't standard. Its meant for iTV and such.

High resolution mobile displays are a great thing, Joe. However, with all due respect, Apple is not the innovator in this phenomenon [the 2k IPS display used in the iPad3 was not even developed by Apple] in fact, Apple's direct competitors in the mobile space are the companies responsible for this breakthrough, and Apple buys numerous internal components [including displays] from Samsung, LG, and others. I worked for an Apple competitor in 2011, and everyone in the mobile/tablet industry knew that >FullHD mobile displays were an inevitability in 2012.

All of this is to say, as many are repeating in the comments here, Apple is focused on consumer products [remember iMovie Pro, er, uh, I mean FCX?]. They are not the only choice, and certainly not always the best choice.

I'm well aware that Apple themselves does not actually develop and manufacture many of their internal components, but they are certainly involved and closely watch the manufacturing process (they do design their processors now though). If Samsung had beaten Apple to the punch actually releasing their own 2K monitor device, then I'd be writing about Samsung instead.

Since you worked in the industry you must know the issues involved with putting such a high resolution screen on a tablet, the uniform brightness and battery life issues. It's simply a fact that Apple released a working device first.

All I really said was that Apple pushed other companies to innovate - were it not for the iPad we likely wouldn't have had tablets this powerful, this quickly. Same with the iPhone, it pushed other companies to release products that were more powerful and at a much faster rate. It's not even necessarily about the hardware - it's about sales - but regardless, people wouldn't be buying the competition to Apple if their hardware was greatly underpowered.

It's not that Apple is even necessarily an innovator, it's that they create a need for a product where before the need did not exist.

I personally think HD monitors has detracted from good focus pulling (as well as lead people to nitpicking little details instead of focusing on the "big picture"...yes, it's true, you might catch a brand name of a piece of trash in the background that you wanted to avoid (despite being relatively easy to fix in post), and lead to the hair and makeup spending more time fixing that one stray hair... It kind of wastes time on set with minutia completely separate from the story.

When monitoring on set was done with a crappy stroby stuttery image off the spinning mirror of a film camera in analog SD, people didn't try to pull focus off of it and obsess over the little things...

You properly marked your lenses during camera prep and used tape measures and other focus measuring devices. The monitor should be used for framing only. Of course a good AC isn't going to hunt for focus during the take, but HD monitors has made everyone sloppy. And a bad AC is hunting for focus and you might not notice, but he or she wouldn't even be trying it if we were just using the lower rez monitors of a couple years ago.

I liked being wowed when you got your film footage back and it was so much sharper and brighter than what you saw thru your dimmer viewfinder and low rez playback, but those days are mostly over.

All that being said, I really wish someone would/could hack an iPad to be a production monitor---even if it means pulling everything out of it except the display (and rewire it for power and SDI & HDMI). The off axis viewing of the iPad blows away a Boland or Transvideo or other $4k-$6k monitor (this isn't just left and right, but top to bottom, which my $5k steadicam monitor won't do). It's also very bright, which would make it an ideal steadicam monitor, as well as a good production monitor all around b/c you wouldn't need to use a hood so much.

BTW, the teradek cube has a latency of 6 frames (or more), so it's unusable for an AC or operator, as well as being annoying to anyone at video village. Anything more than a frame or maybe 2 a second is unusable.

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